


Double-Life

by fandomgurl77



Series: The Descendant AU [1]
Category: Dumbo (2019), Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja, The Greatest Showman - Fandom
Genre: Accident, Adoption, Ancestor, Animals, Bedroom Makeover, Birthday, Bullying, Childbirth, Childcare, Circus, Crying, Discovery, Food allergy, Gen, Happy Child, Holiday, Hospital, Multi, Ouch, Pregnancy, School, Sneaking Out, Telling Off, Wild animal acts are cruel, animal rights, birthday surprise, descendant, joy, mystery injury, protest, surprise, time-travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:33:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 4,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23922391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomgurl77/pseuds/fandomgurl77
Summary: A boy named Juggo is put up for adoption by his financially strapped parents. But when he turns 12, he makes a shocking discovery about who he really is...
Relationships: Juggo & OC, Juggo & P.T Barnum, Phillip Carlyle/Anne Wheeler
Series: The Descendant AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1724431
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue

‘But, Thomas…we _can’t_ just give him up!’ a 23-year old woman named Francesca said in reference to her new-born son, Juggo while lying in her bed at Norrisville Hospital.

‘I know it’s hard, trust me, I don’t want to do the same either’, her husband, Thomas, said, ‘But our current financial situation makes raising a child too expensive. Besides, I’m sure a good family will be found for our son.’

‘I suppose you’re right’, Francesca said, ‘Anyway, we have all of the cards from the family, friends and, in your case, work colleagues from PJ McFlubberbuster’s to congratulate us for his birth, plus a few photos of the three of us.’

**At 10:00 a.m. the next day…**

‘Good morning Mrs. and Mr. Lewis-Barnum’, a nurse said when he opened the door to the room, only this time to be followed by a middle-aged couple, ‘Allow me to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Finlayson, the couple who have decided to adopt your son.’

‘Pleased to meet you both’, Francesca and Thomas said.

‘Us too’, Mr and Mrs. Finlayson said, ‘We noticed little Juggo in an adoption advertisement yesterday and just couldn’t say “no”.’

‘Well, here are our contact details if anything comes up’, Thomas said as he gave Mr. Finlayson a small notebook, ‘Please be sure to take care of Juggo and love him.’

‘Don’t you two worry about a thing’, Mrs. Finlayson said, ‘He’ll be absolutely spoiled rotten by us and the extended family.’

‘Goodbye, Juggo’, Francesca sobbed as Mr. Finlayson picked him up out of the cot.

‘Uh, Fran, darling’, Thomas said, ‘Aren’t you forgetting something?’

‘What’s that?’ she said before she remembered, ‘Oh, just before you go, I’ve got something to give to you to give to Juggo when he’s older.’

‘Ok’, Mr. Finlayson said, ‘What is it?’

‘This’, Francesca said as she gave him a small, transparent plastic box containing a hand-knitted golden letter “B”, ‘This is to remember his birth mother and ancestors by; the “B” stands for “Barnum” and was hand-made by my 4th great-grandfather, P.T Barnum.’

‘Will do’, Mr. Finlayson said, ‘Thanks.’

‘Farewell’, Francesca sobbed before she burst into tears when he closed the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Five years later, Juggo had just been picked up from Miss Marci’s Day-care by Mr. Finlayson, whose first name was Timothy.

‘Daddy!’ Juggo shouted before he ran up to and hugged him, ‘I made this today!’

‘Let’s see it’, Timothy said before Juggo gave him the large piece of paper he was holding.

‘Cool, eh?’ Juggo asked.

‘Yes’, Timothy replied when he saw childish cartoon drawings of seals, lions and elephants doing circus tricks, ‘This is the best picture ever.’

‘Let’s go home’, Juggo said.

‘Ok, young ringmaster’, Timothy said before he farewelled Miss Marci and walked with him to a light blue hatchback parked outside the front gate.

The following day was 5th July 2004 and was Juggo’s fifth “birthday” (adoption anniversary). However, the best part wasn’t until 2:45 p.m., when the family left home for a mystery destination.

‘Mummy’, Juggo said as the car passed PJ McFlubberbuster’s, ‘I want a Choc-Mountain Sundae…with sprinkles!’

‘Um…ok, dear’, Jessica Finlayson said as she stopped at the lights in the turning lane, I’ll just turn around.’

However, Juggo was too impatient to wait at the lights.

‘Mummy…why are you not turning around now?’ he asked.

‘I have to wait for the light to turn green, dear’, Jessica replied as cars were zooming through the intersection from both left and right, ‘Otherwise we would hit the other cars.’

‘Oh’, Juggo said, ‘But, waiting is boring!’

‘Here’, Timothy said when he handed Juggo his favourite book, Life at the Circus, ‘Maybe this will help pass the time.’

‘Ok’, Juggo said as he opened the front cover, ‘Thanks.’

Finally, after nine minutes of stopping and starting as the line of vehicles in the turning lane got shorter over five green-orange-red cycles of the lights, the car turned into the parking lot of PJ McFlubberbuster’s and parked outside the door.


	3. Chapter 3

‘Ok’, Jessica said as Timothy and Juggo got out before she locked the car, ‘Let’s go!’

‘Yes’, Juggo said before they walked through the door and up to the counter, where Timothy saw his sister, Margaret, behind the till.

‘Hey, Marj’, he said, ‘Fancy seeing you here!’

‘Good afternoon, bro’, Margaret said, ‘How are you?’

‘I’m good, thanks’, Timothy said, ‘And so are my wife, Jessica and son, Juggo.’

‘He’s cute’, Margaret said, ‘How old is he?’

‘Well, today’s his fifth birthday, so we’ve bought him here for a treat’, Timothy replied.

‘I see’, Margaret said, ‘In that case, want does he want today?’

‘He’ll have a Choc-Mountain Sundae with sprinkles, please’, Timothy said.

‘Sure’, Margaret said, ‘And was that all for today?’

It was then that Juggo whispered something in his ear.

‘Ok’, Timothy said before he turned to Margaret.

‘He’ll also have a small Triple Chocolate Milkshake, please’, he said.

‘Sure’, Margaret said, ‘That comes to $22.80.’

‘Ok’, Jessica said when she swiped her card and entered the PIN before taking the number to a table beside the window.

**A few minutes later…**

‘How’s that, son?’ Timothy asked as he watched him eating the massive sundae, one mouthful at a time.

‘It’s delicious!’ Juggo replied, ‘My birthday could _never_ get any better than this!’

‘Um…are you sure about that?’ Jessica said, ‘Because this is only the first part of our day out.’

‘There’s a second part after this?’ Juggo said excitedly, ‘Tell me what it is!’

‘Nope, it’s a surprise’, Jessica said, ‘But we know you will love it.’

‘Speaking of that, you don’t want to get ice-cream or chocolate all over you’, Timothy said when he noticed that Juggo had finished, ‘So it’s off to wash our hands!’

‘Ok’, Juggo said as they walked to the bathroom.

‘Ok’, Jessica said as she blindfolded Juggo and strapped him into his car-seat before she and Timothy got in and locked the doors, ‘Let’s go.’


	4. Chapter 4

After a fifty-minute drive, they arrived at the Great Green Reserve on the outskirts of the city and parked in-front of a large, colourful sign that had a big black arrow pointing down a short path that led to a huge red and white striped tent.

** ‘Reservations for the Finlaysons’, Jessica said to the young woman in the ticket kiosk.

‘Sure’, she said as she handed two tickets over, ‘Enjoy.’

‘Um…sorry, mam’, Jessica said, ‘But there were supposed to be three tickets.’

The woman in the kiosk looked at her in a slightly confused manner.

‘Sorry…must have been a mistake’, Jessica said in response, ‘There are only two…’

‘No, there are three’, Timothy said before the woman noticed him. **

‘Oh, you must be Mr. Finlayson’, she said as she gave him his ticket, ‘Sorry for the confusion.’

**Inside the tent…**

‘Finally, the show’s about to begin’, Jessica said as Timothy untied and removed the blindfold over Juggo’s eyes.

‘Surprise!’ he and Jessica said as Juggo took in his surroundings.

‘Oh, my Ninja!’ he said, ‘You took me to the circus??’

‘See?’ Jessica said, ‘I knew you would love it.’

‘Anyway’, Timothy said, ‘Happy birthday, Juggo.’

‘Thank you both’, Juggo said just as the ringmaster walked to the front of the ring to welcome the audience and introduce the first act.

**An hour and five minutes later…**

‘Absolutely amazing!’ Juggo said as they vacated the stand and descended to the ground, ‘I’ve never seen anything like it!’

‘I’ve been here four times while I was growing up’, Jessica said, ‘The lights, sounds, tricks and atmosphere are all amazing.’

‘Yes’, Timothy said, ‘I’ve never seen you so happy, especially when the elephants came out, your face shone up like a set of Christmas lights.’

‘Anyway, let’s go home’, Jessica said, ‘It’s nearly time for bed for you anyway, Juggo.’

However, before Juggo could walk outside, a sign lit-up with golden lights that contained a name written in big yellow letters caught his eye.

“ _Barnum_ ”, it read.

‘Oh my…’ he thought, ‘I can’t believe it!’

‘Mummy! Daddy!’ he shouted as he ran up to the car, ‘I saw…the name!’

‘Ah, yes’, Timothy said, ‘Barnum’s Circus has been travelling around the country since the 1870s and is now very famous.’

‘Yes’, Jessica said as she strapped Juggo in before sitting in the driver’s seat and locking the doors, ‘Rumour has it that the second ringmaster was an ex-playwright named Phillip Carlyle, who fell for a trapeze artist named Anne Wheeler.’

‘Gross!’ Juggo thought as the car turned onto the road.

‘Wait a minute!’ Timothy said in response, ‘You mean _the_ Phillip Carlyle?’

‘Yes’, Jessica said as she stopped at a red light, ‘The Carlyle’s were one of the wealthiest families in New York at the time the circus started, and Phillip gave it all up to be with the circus and Anne, or that’s how the rumour goes.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ** This scene is a reference to the theatre scene in The Greatest Showman.


	5. Chapter 5

Three-and-a-half years later, Juggo’s bedroom was redecorated.

‘Dad’, he said while pushing a large stuffed toy elephant into the now red and white striped room, ‘Where should I put this?’

‘Oh’, Timothy said, ‘There’s a space for him in the corner in front of you.’

‘Ok’, Juggo said as he pushed it into the corner and turned it to face the door.

‘Right’, Timothy said, ‘I’ve completed the outline around your bed which the plastic red-and-gold border will replace when it arrives tomorrow. Until then, you need to be careful to not stand on it.’

‘Ok’, Juggo said.

‘How are my boys going?’ Jessica asked.

‘We’re doing fine, thank you’, Timothy replied, ‘However, we could come down for a lemonade and cake.’

‘Well, you’re in luck, because I bought a small cheesecake down at the bakery for afternoon tea’, Jessica said, ‘I thought it would be a nice treat for my two construction workers.’

‘Thanks’, Timothy said, ‘You go and get ready, and we’ll be right down.’

At interval on September 21st, Juggo was sitting with his friend, Julian, on a bench beside the sandpit.

‘So, what did you get up to during summer break?’ he asked.

‘I and my mother went to England for a week-long holiday’, Julian replied, ‘Then we were in Germany for four days and returned home on the 13th July. How about you?’

‘Well, this didn’t happen this year, but on the 5th July in 2004 I turned five’, Juggo said, ‘To celebrate, my parents took me to PJ McFlubberbuster’s down the road and I got a Choc-Mountain Sundae and a Triple Chocolate Milkshake.’

‘Sounds delicious’, Julian said, ‘I’ve heard that their sundaes are huge.’

‘Well, you’re correct’, Juggo said, ‘It was so big that I don’t know how I managed to eat it all, especially with the milkshake, which was a decent size as well. Anyway, that wasn’t the best part of my birthday…’

‘What could have been better than that?’ Julian asked.

‘Well, firstly my parents collected three tickets from a kiosk in Great Green Reserve…’ Juggo began.

‘Wait a minute’, Julian said, remembering seeing a huge tent in the Reserve that summer, ‘They took you to… _Barnum’s Circus_??’

‘Um…yes’, Juggo said, ‘And we enjoyed every moment, especially me.’

‘Wow!’ Julian said, ‘What a birthday present! I wish I could go…but Mother always says “No”, whenever it’s in town.’

‘Why?’ Juggo asked, ‘Why miss out on such a spectacle?’

‘Well, she says it is, and I quote, “because it promotes everything that I’m against”, whatever that may be’, Julian replied, ‘Despite that, I’m planning to go with a friend next time it’s here, since I often go to his house for play-dates anyway.’

‘I see’, Juggo said, ‘America is a big country, so you may be waiting for quite a while.’

‘I know’, Julian said, ‘But I’m prepared to wait for _years_ before going.’

**At lunchtime…**

“Julian??’ Juggo asked nervously as he walked through a small patch of trees near the back boundary of the section, ‘W…where are you??’

Suddenly, he was grabbed by the arm by a boy in a grey shirt, long blue trousers and black shoes.

‘Hey, no one comes here without permission!’ the boy, Bash Johnson, shouted as his two friends jumped out from behind two trees.

‘Who are you?’ Juggo asked.

‘I’m Bash Johnson and these are my friends, Doug, or D.J, and Mick. What’s _your_ business in our hideout??’

‘Um…well, I was looking for my friend, Julian, and…’ Juggo began before being cut off by laughter.

‘Hahahaha!’ Bash said to his friends, ‘Sounds like Circus Freak here is friends with that Gothic shoob!’

‘Really? A Goth and a Circus Freak?’ D.J asked, ‘Gee, that sounds like it has a good “ring” to it.’

‘I bet this will take him a while to “master”’, Bash said, ‘Oh, and by the way, D.J, your joke was well “rounded”.’

‘Oh, my goodness’, Juggo said, ‘That’s absolutely terrible!’

‘Well, you don’t look any better, Juggo!’ Bash said.

‘Oh, yeah?’ Juggo said in retaliation, ‘Well, I’m here to tell you, Bash and Co., that you’re a bunch of… _flopdoodles_!’

‘Ooohhh…’ Bash said as Juggo covered his mouth with his hands in response to what he had just said, ‘I’m telling Mr. Greble that you used the “fl” word!’

‘Mr. Greble!’ he shouted as he ran off.

**A few long seconds later…**

‘Juggo!’ Mr. Greble said in an angry tone as he walked up to him, ‘You know that sort of language is not allowed at school!’

‘Sorry, Mr. Greble’, Juggo said while looking down, ‘It won’t happen again.’

‘Well, as punishment for this “incident”, I’m going to have to remove one of the smiley face stickers beside your name on the corkboard’, Mr. Greble said.

‘But…everyone will see’, Juggo said.

‘Sorry, Juggo’, Mr. Greble said, ‘But you have to learn that bad behaviour has consequences.’

‘I suppose you’re right’, Juggo said disappointedly.

**Later that afternoon…**

‘I’m sorry, Mr. Barnum’, Juggo said to a picture of him that Timothy had found on the Internet and printed before he sat on his bed, buried his face in his pillow and burst into tears.

‘What’s wrong, son?’ Jessica asked when she opened the door a few minutes later.

‘I’m not in the mood, Mum’, Juggo replied, ‘Just go away!’

‘I see’, Jessica said as she closed the door and sat at the end of the bed, ‘What happened today?’

‘I had a smiley face removed from beside my name’, Juggo admitted, ‘It was for swearing.’

‘What did you say exactly?’ Jessica asked.

‘I said um…’ Juggo replied, ‘The word I said was… _flopdoodle_.’

‘Oh, Juggo’, Jessica said, ‘There’s no reason to cry over that.’

‘Yes, there is’, Juggo sobbed, ‘It’s not…what a ringmaster would say.’

‘Well, what if I told you that even P.T Barnum used that word a few times?’ Jessica asked. ‘Would that make you feel better?’

‘No honking way!’ Juggo said in response, ‘ _He_ used it?’

‘Yes’, Jessica said, ‘I’ve been to the circus museum where there is a plaque that states the origin of the word; in fact, it originated before the circus got going in 1870.’

‘So, how did it end up being a swear word?’ Juggo asked.

‘It’s always been offensive ever since it originated as an insult’, Jessica said, ‘Which is why you, or anyone else, must never use it.’

‘Ok’, Juggo said, ‘It shall never be uttered by me again.’

‘Anyway’, Jessica said as she heard the car come up the driveway, ‘Dad’s just returned with dinner.’

‘What is it?’ Juggo asked.

‘It’s fried chicken from Charlie Clucker’s’, Jessica replied.

‘All right!’ Juggo said before he ran out of the room and down the hall, while Jessica walked down.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juggo's brother is born.

Over the next seven months, Juggo noticed something about Jessica.

‘Mum’, he said, ‘I’ve noticed that you have been gradually becoming bigger over the last half-year or so.’

‘Ah yes’, Jessica said, ‘I and Dad have something to tell you regarding this.’

‘Ok’, Juggo said, unaware of the coming surprise, ‘What is it?’

‘Juggo, we found out a few months ago…that you are going to have a little brother!’

‘What??’ Juggo said in shock, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’

‘Isn’t this exciting news?’ Timothy said, ‘I just know that you’ll make an excellent big brother when he arrives in a month’s time.’

‘Yes’, Juggo said, imagining the four of them going to the circus together, ‘We’re going to have loads of fun.’

**One month and two days later…**

‘Juggo’, Timothy said when they stopped outside Jessica’s room at Norrisville Hospital, ‘Are you ready to meet your baby brother?’

‘Yes!’ Juggo said before Timothy opened the door.

‘Shhh’, Jessica said in response to Juggo’s excited shouting, ‘He’s sleeping.’

‘Awww’, Juggo whispered as he watched his new-born brother sleeping in the cot, ‘He’s adorable. What’s his name?’

‘His name is Micah, named after your father’s twin brother’, Jessica said.

‘Anyway, when will you be coming home?’ Juggo asked, ‘I’ve missed you over these last two days.’

‘The doctor said we’ll be allowed to go home at 11:00 tomorrow', Jessica said.


	7. Chapter 7

‘Ok, Mother’, Julian said, ‘I’ll be here waiting for you to pick me up at 6:05.’

‘See you later, Mother’, Julian said.

‘See you later, Julian’, Clara said before she drove away, ‘You take care of yourself.’

‘Right’, Julian’s friend, Randy said, ‘Ready to go?’

‘You bet I am!’ Julian said as they raced inside, nearly colliding with Mrs. Cunningham.

‘Oh’, Randy said, ‘Sorry, Mum.’

‘Well, at least nothing happened that time’, Claire said, ‘However, I don’t want you to run inside the house.’

‘Ok’, Randy said, ‘It will not happen again.’

‘Anyway’, Claire said, ‘Are you ready to go?’

‘Yes’, Julian and Randy said.

‘Well then, let’s go!’ Claire said before they headed out the door.

**Thirty minutes later…**

‘Here we are’, Claire said as she, Randy and Julian walked up to the ticket kiosk, ‘Have you both got your money ready?’

‘Yes’, Randy and Julian said as they took one ten-dollar note out of their pockets.

However, just as they were about to walk through the entrance, Julian noticed a small group of people holding placards.

‘What are these people doing?’ he asked before one of them faced Claire.

‘Hey there, Mrs.’, he said, ‘Please reconsider taking your kids in there.’

‘Look here, Mr.’, Claire said, ‘I spent good money on fuel to bring them here, not to mention the price of an adult ticket, so I kindly ask you to leave.’

‘Excuse me?’ the man said in shock, ‘I’m appalled that you would willingly bring them to a place that abuses animals for entertainment!’

‘So are we’, the rest of the group said, ‘There is **no** excuse for the atrocities that occur in there, day after day! How would _you_ like it if you were locked up in chains, beaten, whipped and starved, all without access to medical help, and _still_ expected to entertain the crowds??’

‘Well, _sorry_ , but you’re not telling me how to live my life!’ Claire said, ‘Besides, all of what you just said is illegal anyway, so they’re unable to do any of that by law!’

‘Come on, Randy and Julian’, she said as she walked inside, ‘Let’s go.’

‘Right behind you’, Julian said before they followed.

‘Go along, kids’, the protestor said, ‘Enjoy the show. Just be aware that you’re supporting animal abuse by watching it.’


	8. Chapter 8

‘Finally’, Clara thought while driving down the road that went past Great Green Reserve, ‘I’ve got those sausages for the barbeque, after searching five shops across the city!’

Suddenly, she noticed the huge red-and-white striped tent of Barnum’s Circus while she was waiting for the light to turn green.

‘Not them again!’ she thought, ‘I’ll **never** support their ugly business in any way! Those poor animals **must** be freed from their imprisonment!’

**At 6:05 that evening…**

‘Hello, Mother’, Julian said as he sat down in his seat in the car and closed the door before belting himself up’, ‘What did you do during the afternoon?’

‘Oh’, Clara said, ‘I finally found those sausages you wanted. Anyway, what did you get up to with Randy?’

‘Well, we went out to the shops’, Julian said. (It was true; he, Randy and Claire _did_ go to the mall after the circus.)

‘I see’, Clara said, ‘Was there anything in there?’

‘No’, Julian said, ‘But I did see Father.’

‘Ah, so he’s come back home’, Clara said.

‘Yes’, Julian said, ‘He said he’d be home anytime now.’

‘Micah!’ Juggo shouted when he entered his room on the afternoon of June 21st that year, ‘What are you doing!?’

‘Phan-phan is fun!’ Micah said whilst sitting on the stuffed toy elephant’s back, causing it to start to wobble.

‘Get off there, now. Micah!’ Juggo said when he noticed the movement, ‘Otherwise, you’ll…’

Suddenly, the legs spread in all four directions, causing the main body to hit the floor hard, causing Micah to cry with fear.

‘Are you alright?’ Juggo said, ‘That was quite a fall.’

In response, Micah started crying loudly.

‘I’ll go and get Mum’, Juggo said before he rushed down the hall and into the lounge.

‘Mum, come with me quickly’, he said, ‘Micah’s had an accident.’

‘Ok’, Jessica said before they returned to the bedroom.

‘Oh Micah’, Jessica said as she picked him up off the floor beside the stuffed toy that he was riding a minute before, ‘It’s ok.’

‘I got hurted’, Micah said.

‘Let’s get you out of here’, Jessica said.


	9. Chapter 9

‘Ugh’, Juggo thought in response to Micah’s constant crying that night, ‘I can’t sleep with this!’

He walked over to the door, closed it to block out the noise and got back into bed.

‘Ahh, that’s better’, he thought as he closed his eyes, ‘Peace and quiet at last.’

However, two minutes later, the crying started again, only this time it was louder and high-pitched.

‘What’s going on down there?’ Juggo thought as he opened the door and walked down the hall to look in Micah’s room, where Jessica and Timothy were.

‘I know, dear’, Jessica said as she picked Micah up out of the cot, ‘It’s painful, isn’t it?’

‘Right’, Timothy said as he bought a small tube of ointment over, ‘This will relieve the pain, Micah.’

As soon as he finished putting the ointment on, Micah stopped crying and fell asleep.

‘Ok’, Jessica whispered as she placed him back in the cot and tucked him in tightly, ‘Time for us to go to bed.’

‘I can’t believe that we’re here together as a family!’ Juggo said as they walked up to the ticket kiosk, ‘This will be the first time that Micah has been here.’

‘And by the looks of things, he’s pretty excited too’, Timothy said in reference to his hyperactivity the previous day and that morning.

‘Let’s go and get our tickets!’ Jessica said as they stopped at the front of the kiosk.

However, something unexpected had happened the previous night.

‘We’ll have two adult and two children’s tickets, please’, Jessica said.

‘Sorry’, the woman behind the counter said disappointedly, ‘But all future shows in Norrisville for this season have been cancelled.’

‘What?’ Jessica asked, ‘Why?’

‘Tragically, there was a sudden death after last night’s show. From all I know, the ringmaster had a heart attack backstage and collapsed’, the woman replied.

‘Oh, I’m so sorry to hear about that’, Jessica said, ‘We all are.’

‘I know you’re disappointed’, the woman said, ‘But, we have to find a replacement before there are any more shows, unfortunately. In the meantime, the kids can have a balloon.’

‘Ok then’, Juggo and Jessica said as they picked a balloon each from the stand beside the kiosk.

‘Oh, that’s wonk’, Juggo said as the car was travelling down the road, ‘Poor Micah was so excited about going, too.’

‘We all were excited about seeing the new baby elephant too’, Jessica and Timothy said before Micah started crying in response to the disappointment, ‘However, no ringmaster equals no circus. Besides, there’s always next time.’

‘Yes, you are right’, Juggo said, ‘It’s just so sad that this had to happen.’

‘I know’, Jessica said, ‘My heart goes out to the family, friends and the troupe.’

‘I think that applies to all of us’, Timothy said.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juggo's blood test results come back to reveal the unthinkable.

At 2:30 p.m. on 12 May 2012, Jessica and Timothy dropped Micah off at Timothy’s twin brother’s house and took Juggo for a surprise visit to the hospital to find out what the result of a DNA blood test was.

‘Right, Juggo’, Timothy said, ‘It’s time to get the result of the test that was done a week ago.’

‘Ah’, Juggo said, ‘I saw that you both had smiles on your faces when you read the letter.’

‘Yes’, Jessica said as she parked the car outside the main entrance, ‘You won’t believe what the result says either.’

**In the consultation room…**

‘Right, Juggo’, the doctor, Derrickson, said, ‘Are you ready to discover what the blood test has indicated?’

‘Yes’, Juggo said eagerly.

‘Good’, Dr. Derrickson said, ‘I’ll just bring it up on my computer.’

‘Ok’, Juggo said.

**A few long seconds later…**

‘Now, Juggo’, Dr. Derrickson said, ‘The test revealed that you’re an adopted child…’

‘Is this true?’ Juggo asked, ‘Was I really adopted?’

‘Yes’, Jessica replied.

‘Well then’, Juggo said, ‘Who are my birth parents?’

‘Ah’, Jessica said, ‘That’s where things become exciting. Your birth parents’ names are…Francesca and Thomas.’

‘But it gets even more exciting’, Timothy said as Jessica handed him a box wrapped in a white cloth, ‘Maybe this will help.’

‘Thanks’, Juggo said before he unwrapped the cloth, revealing a transparent plastic box containing a hand-knitted golden “B”.

‘No…’ he said after a few seconds, ‘It can’t be. I’ve seen this before in old photographs…’

‘Yes’, Dr. Derrickson said, ‘You’re a direct descendant of P.T Barnum.’

‘What??’ Juggo said in shock, ‘Let me see the screen!’

‘Here’, Dr. Derrickson said, ‘Your mother’s 3rd great grandmother was Caroline Barnum, a famous ballerina and P.T’s oldest daughter.’

‘I can’t believe it!’ Juggo said, ‘I’m of circus royalty!’

‘We knew you would be absolutely thrilled to find this out’, Jessica said.

‘So, why did you never use my real name when referring to me for anything?’ Juggo asked.

‘Oh’, Jessica replied, ‘Since you’re old enough to understand, we’ll tell you.’

‘I’ll leave you three to it’, Dr. Derrickson said before he walked out, ‘Goodbye.’

‘Goodbye, Doc’, Jessica said.

‘Right, Juggo’, Jessica said as she closed the door and sat down, ‘The reason that we used our name instead of yours is quite simple, really.’

‘You see’, Timothy began, ‘There are some people who become uncomfortable if they hear or see that name.’

‘What?’ Juggo asked, ‘But why? It’s just a name, right?’

‘Yes’, Jessica said, ‘But it’s more complicated than that.’

‘I still don’t get it’, Juggo said.

‘The truth is, some people are protesting the use of animals at Barnum’s Circus, not to mention all circuses in general’, Timothy said, ‘They believe that how they are treated and trained is cruel.’

‘However, a small minority are extremists on this issue and, as a result, you could be badly hurt or even killed because of the simple fact that you are a descendent’, Jessica said, ‘It has happened to a small number of descendants and relations living overseas in the past few decades.’


End file.
